Give Me a Reason
by Ficticius
Summary: Fang wakes up alone behind enemy lines, with no sign of Vanille. AU Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

_Drip. Drip._

_"Vanille..."_

Pain. It was everywhere, to the point where she couldn't feel anything else. It became a color, surrounding her in it's grasp. It was the black of night, the fear of children, and the comfort of monsters. She fought it with the strength that she was known for, beating back the darkness like she was born to.

Details began to filter in through the black.

Cold drenched her front, and there was hardness against her cheek. She could hear water dripping close by. All of a sudden, she heard a sound foreign to her cold, dark world.

"Claire! Quick!"

The sound was followed by the cadence of running feet. She struggled in her battle with the black, and pushed it back enough to crack an eye open. She saw the world that she had become accustomed to, dark and grey. Two figures, bright and unafraid, braved their way through the darkness to her. In her shock, she stopped her fight against the black.

With a chuckle that rang through her mind, the darkness reached up to claim her once again.

* * *

It felt as if she were floating.

The pain couldn't find her here, wherever she was. The darkness was banished, and light shone through her dazed mind. Details started to squirm through the cracks of her awareness.

Oerba Yun Fang felt warmth, and soft sheets beneath her.

Bed, she thought to herself. It must be daytime now.

Faint murmurs could be heard from close by. She cracked her eyes open and took in the sights.

She was in the bed of a brightly colored room. Light cascaded through the window on the far side of the room to fall on her from outside. Aside from the color of the walls, the room was small and spartan in its simplicity.

"No, Serah..."

The owner of the voice walked into the room and paused at finding the strange woman that they had found awake. She was dressed oddly, in a sleeveless jacket with many buckles and small shorts on. A weapon peeked out of the holster on her thigh. However, the strangest thing about her was the pink hair that seemed so out of place framing her hard expression. Her azure eyes locked on to Fang's viridians with a steely gaze.

At the sight of another human, Fang's mind seemed to clear. She leapt out of the bed and challenged the pink haired woman.

"Vanille! Tell me where she is!"

The pink haired woman slid back into a defensive stance and put her hand on her weapon.

"I don't kn-"

"Don't lie to me!" Fang interrupted with her smooth accent. "She was with me when I got attacked!" She frantically looked around for a weapon, and located her spear by the bedside table. She snatched it up, extended the spear to its half length, and twirled it into a battle stance. "Now spill, birdie! Where's she at!"

"Lightning! What's going on?" A light-pitched voice exclaimed from outside the room.

"Serah, stay back. This woman is dangerous." The woman called Lightning turned back to the strange woman and assessed her coldly. She was a strange looking woman, though admittedly beautiful, with bronzed skin and piercing viridian eyes. Her wild black and red hair made her seem like an untamed animal. She was wearing an odd blue tribal wrap around black shorts and a black halter top. "You are from Pulse, are you not?"

The strange woman sneered, "Gran Pulse. You're a damn Cocoon viper, and ya took my Vanille!'

The spear wielder leapt forward and attacked her captor with a short stab that would be lethal to most. However, Lightning did not seem to fit into that general category of people. True to her name, she easily avoided the spear strike and whipped out her sword.

Growling in frustration, the Pulsian whipped around the other end of her spear to press the attack, only to be blocked by Lightning's strange sword. The two enemies pressed close to each other in the block, each trying to overpower the other.

Lightning quickly realized that pure strength was definitely not the way she would win this fight. Even though her opponent was weak from fresh wounds, she was already overpowering the pink haired swordswoman.

_Just how strong is she?_ Lightning thought._ She's not much bigger than me, but she has to be stronger than anyone else I've ever met!_

Lightning rolled away quickly, her speed not an advantage in this fight, with the size of the small room hampering her usual acrobatic fighting style. She sprang her feet quickly, launching a quick strike at the back of the bronze spear-wielder, only to have her strike blocked yet again.

The Pulse-born quickly whirled her spear, tossing Lightning's strike aside and coming around the back of the pink swordswoman's leg. She hooked quickly and brought Lightning crumpling to her feet. Flush with success, she brought her spear up for the killing blow.

"NO!"

The bronze skinned woman looked up quickly to see a smaller version of Lightning standing at the doorway. There were tears in the smaller girl's eyes and her hands were covering her mouth, as she looked from the spear to Lightning crumpled on the floor. Fang's eyes widened and darted between the two pink haired sisters as she realized that maybe these two weren't so different from Vanille and herself. It wasn't so difficult to see Vanille standing there crying with Fang on the ground.

"We go to all that trouble to save your life, and this is how you repay us!?" Serah yelled.

Guilt surged in Fang's chest as she put the pieces together. Her heartrate slowed, and the haze that was affecting her judgement cleared.

Unfortunately, that haze was all that was keeping her standing. The Pulse born dropped her spear and let out a groan as she fell towards Serah. She could only choke out a few words before the darkness rose up to claim her.

"...I'm sorry..."


	2. Chapter 2

"We should just turn her in."

Lightning's cold gaze swept over the Pulse native lying again in their guest bedroom. She was unnerved to have this danger so close to her sister, although her emotionless face gave no sign to her troubled mind.

"No Claire, we can't. I already explained. She apologized to me before she passed out! I think she understands." Serah pleaded against the icy eyes of Lightning Farron.

"What could she possibly understand, Serah!? She tried to kill me. An apology hardly makes up for that. She's dangerous and she could hurt you while I'm at work." Lightning gently closed the door and barred it, even though she didn't think that would stop the fiery warrior within.

Serah followed her older sister into the kitchen and watched her as she made coffee. "You didn't see her eyes, Claire. She felt horrible for what she did. Besides, you heard her yelling about that Vanille person. It's probably her sister or something. You would feel the same in her position if I was missing."

Serah saw her sister pause when she made that point. "I admit I would be dead or seriously injured if she had not stopped when she did. You may be on to something." Stirring her cup of coffee and smelling it, Lightning grew quiet as she pondered her sister's words.

The smaller sister jumped for joy. "Awesome! So we'll nurse her back to health and help her find this Vanille, right?" Serah clasped her hands together and gave her best pout.

Lightning rolled her eyes and the corner of her mouth tugged at her sister's antics. "I'll think about it. I have to get to work though, and I am not leaving you here alone with her." She continued to sip her coffee as Serah bounced around the kitchen in elation.

"Don't worry big sis, I'll get Snow to come over and protect me." At the mention of Snow, Lightning gave a grimace over her cup. "I know you don't like him, but he'll do anything to keep me safe."

While Lightning did not like Snow in the least, the truth of the matter was Serah's hulking brute of a boyfriend was the next best option of protecting Serah aside from Lightning herself. He had proved himself to value Serah's protection above all else over the few years that he had been dating Serah.

The major turning point in gaining Lightning's trust had been a year ago.

_Lightning was at work, so Serah was walking home from school with Snow. Bodhum City was usually very safe, due in no small part to Lightning's efforts with the Guardian Corps, the military branch in charge of policing and patrolling the streets._

_However, crime had begun to strike back with a vengeance. The Guardian Corps were understaffed with the newly initiated war on the neighboring country, Pulse. Lightning had to pour a lot of her free time into overtime to make sure she could stay close to the city, and more importantly, close to Serah._

_Serah was enjoying her free time with Snow. Unfortunately, her sister still did not understand the depth of her boyfriend's commitment, so she did not get to spend as much time as she would like with him. They had only been dating a year, but he made her so happy that she could not understand why Lightning could not accept him._

_The two lovebirds were walking home late from the school library, where Serah had been studying for her exams. The sun was setting, and orange light bathed the street on which they were walking, glinting off the buildings around them and warming the people that it came into contact with. Thoughts of the war seemed distant, and the quiet reinforced that._

_Serah and Snow walked arm in arm down the sidewalk, simply enjoying each other's company. They were past the point of needing to fill the silence._

_As they strode past an empty alley, Serah was suddenly ripped from Snow's arm. A shriek issued from her lips as two men grabbed her and took off down the alley._

_"SERAH!" Snow sprinted after the two kidnappers down a dark alley. They took a sharp turn and he skidded around the corner only to pull up short. Serah's sniffling had quieted considerably when one of the two men held a knife to her throat. They were both dressed in all black, with masks hiding their features._

_Snow waved to get their attention away from Serah. He watched as their eyes followed his hand._

_"Listen guys, we don't want any trouble..." He trailed off as the knife man in black started dragging the flat of his blade up and down Serah's throat. Serah gave a small squeak, and the knife wielder chuckled._

_"I think you are going to do exactly what we say, boy." Serah shuddered as he continued his slow taunting of Snow. Suddenly, she couldn't take it. She smashed her boot down hard, and snapped her head back to crack into the kidnapper's nose, a defense maneuver courtesy of her older sister. Finding herself free, she dove out of the way._

_Snow darted in as soon as Serah broke herself free. Grabbing the knife wielder by the wrist, he smashed his arm into the wall to make him drop the knife. He then chuckled as he plowed his fist into the kidnapper's face, cracking the mask in half. The man in black dropped like a rock. Fully aware that there was another assailant, Snow turned around to face him just in time to hear the gunshot._

_"NO! SNOW!"_

_Pain radiated through his body, the icy claws slowing his movement and his thinking. He had gotten lucky. It had only hit his shoulder. Time seemed to slow as he glanced towards Serah and back towards the gunner. The man in black started to swing his gun over to point at Serah. In that moment, the icy grasp of pain no longer seemed to have a hold on him. He had a greater priority than himself, to protect Serah._

_Snow lunged forward, taking his attacker down in a rough tackle. He raised his uninjured arm and pummeled his enemy, Serah's enemy, in the face until the man in black no longer fought back._

Lightning still recalled the panic that she had that day, when she received that phone call from a hysterical Serah. She had rushed down the alleyway, only to find two unconscious men and Snow being treated by her sobbing sister. Snow had earned Lightning's grudging respect from that point forward. He had earned that much, even if she did not like him.

"I suppose that having Snow here would be good enough, as long as you keep her sedated. No more surprises like today." The soldier fixed her little sister with a stare to reinforce her meaning. "I have to get to work, so no more delays. I'll give it some thought, but if I feel it's too dangerous, we are turning her in. Understood?"

"Okay, sis. I'll call Snow so you can get going." Serah bounced off to another room to grab the phone. Lightning could hear her chatter faintly as she sipped on her coffee and tried to work out the mystery of the Pulse native sleeping in her guest bedroom.

* * *

Lightning powered off her velocycle in front of the massively imposing building that served as the headquarters for the Guardian Corps compound. People rushed back and forth while platoons drilled on the expanse of grass surrounding the headquarters. The precision and efficiency of the military appealed to Lightning's nature in a way no other job would, so it was ideal to keep her skills sharp and allow her to keep close to Serah.

_Apparently not sharp enough._ Lightning grimaced as she recalled how easily she had been toppled by the Pulse warrior._ I'll have to train harder._

Snow had not taken long to show up, so she was still right on schedule, thirty minutes early. Her boots clicked on the floor in a steady rhythm as she walked down the hall, nodding precisely in greeting to the few soldiers that passed her. As she turned the corner to her office, she heard a deep voice ring out.

"Sergeant Farron!"

The click of boots halted immediately, and grew louder as they approached the office of Lightning's superior officer, Captain Amodar. Lightning entered the office and threw a sharp salute to the heavyset man sitting behind the desk.

"Sir!"

Captain Amodar leaned back in his chair and ran his hand through his brown, military cut hair. "At ease, Farron."

Lightning relaxed her posture slightly, although it seemed as if she would never truly be at ease.

Amodar picked up a cigar off his desk and started chewing absentmindedly. He had quit years ago, but still retained the habit of chewing them when he was thinking.

"What am I supposed to do with you, Farron? You haven't taken vacation since you started at the Guardian Corps! It's been five years, don't you think you should take a breather?" Amodar sighed as he continued the same routine that seemed to happen monthly. He knew she wouldn't take it, but he was required to ask it of her anyway.

"Actually sir, something has come up..."

Amodar jerked in his chair, nearly swallowing the cigar. After a serious round of coughing, he nodded quickly.

"Yes, of course!" He choked out. "I'm signing you up for three weeks off, not a day short, you hear me?" Amodar looked up from his paperwork. "Light, you deserve this. Your parents would be proud."

Lightning glanced up at her superior officer and old family friend and gave a quick nod. Her face was emotionless as always. She had long passed the point where mention of her parents penetrated the walls she had erected to protect her emotions.

The soldier thought three weeks was a little excessive for vacation, but she liked to be prepared. She had told her sister that she would think about what to do with the green eyed Pulse warrior in their guest bedroom, but the truth was she had already decided. Lightning identified with the Pulse born. She knew what it was like to have someone you had to protect, even faced with deadly injuries and stranded behind enemy lines. She knew she would do the same for Serah, if need be.

"Oh, and Farron?" Amodar looked up again from his paperwork. "While you are here today, I want you to initiate the new recruits. You'll pick up their training after you come back. Dismissed."

"Yes sir!" Lightning snapped another picture perfect salute, turned on her heel, and left the office.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Thanks for the reviews guys, it's really motivating me to continue this story. This is the first time that I've ever written anything not for school, so the positive feedback is very much appreciated._

_This story will be a tad drawn out, seeing as I'm trying to introduce the characters like you've never seen them before. I'll try to keep with the consistent updates though._

_Thanks for reading. :)_


	3. Chapter 3

Fang had been wrong.

She wished for the blackness now, wished for it to swallow her up and take her away from this new agony. The pain had changed colors. It was no longer the sweet black of unconsciousness; it had evolved from that. The black that had surrounded her before had caught fire, the red flames crashing over her body in waves. This new kind of pain screamed from her wounds each time she took a breath and throbbed in time to her pulse.

Even though she wished an escape from the fiery red inferno, she felt cleansed by it, oddly enough. She felt that the pain was deserved for jumping to conclusions about her perceived captors, not to mention nearly crippling one of them. At that point it didn't matter to her that they were from Cocoon and she from Pulse. Petty things like war between countries fell to the wayside when confronted by the fact that they had saved her life, with probably great risk to themselves, and in return she had almost killed them.

The Pulse-born fought against the pain to try to crack open her eyelids and get a measure of her surroundings. She took in the familiar sight of the small, brightly colored room where she had originally woken. She took deep breaths and ran through an ancient Yun mental exercise to separate her mind from the pain.

_You can do this, Fang. You're a Yun_, she berated herself mentally.

The exercise was simple enough when it was taught to her, she just had to imagine that someone else was telling her of their pain, rather than actually feeling it herself. It was proving much more difficult to use when she was actually in mind dizzying pain. She ran through the exercise several times before it started to take effect, and she began to think of the pain affecting her as someone else's.

After she had regained control of herself, Fang heard what sounded like a horde of trampling behemoths somewhere outside the door and winced. It slowly coalesced into a male voice speaking.

"I should just wake her up. We need answers, especially if you are so dead set on helping her."

A familiar female voice replied back, "No Snow, she's reopened a lot of her injuries by fighting Lightning. We should let her rest."

That must be Mini-Lightning, Fang thought to herself. I wonder who else is here?

The male chuckled. "I still can't believe she took down Lightning. I bet Sis is fuming."

Fang grinned as she heard a sigh in reply. "You know you shouldn't call her that. You don't even get a reaction, you just end up getting punched. Now come on, I have to check on our guest."

Snow was obviously against this. "But Serah, Lightning said for you -"

"I don't care what Claire said, Snow. I will not have anyone bleed out in my guest bedroom because my sister wants to protect me from someone who won't hurt me," Serah said indignantly.

Fang's smile widened as she heard the exchange, immediately picturing the small pink haired girl with her hands on her hips and a frown on her face. She had been on the receiving end of that particular look many a time from Vanille. Her face immediately clouded over at the thought of Vanille.

_Where is she? She wasn't there when I woke up._ Fang chewed on her lip in worry.

The sound of the door opening broke the Pulse warrior out of her worried thoughts and her bright green eyes focused on the two newcomers. Her eyes jumped to the larger of the two, the apparent owner of the male voice that she had heard.

He was large for a Cocoon native, with a shock of blond hair showing underneath the black cap that he had on. He also had on a long grey trenchcoat over what Fang assumed to be normal Cocoon clothes. He shot her a guarded look when he saw that she was awake.

Fang's eyes swept over to Mini-Lightning, presumably named Serah, and finally got a good look at the person responsible for making the decision that kept her alive. Snow towered over her, being as small as she was, with Serah being both shorter and much more slender than he was. Serah wore her family's trademark pink hair tied up into a side ponytail, and her eyes were just a shade brighter than Lightning's. She was dressed in a white blouse and plaid skirt that seemed to fit her bubbly personality perfectly. She approached Fang cautiously.

"Hey there, how are you feeling?" Serah asked, her concerned eyes trying to discern if any bandages were out of place.

Fang lost concentration in surprise at the amount of genuine concern in Serah's voice. The fiery sensation of pain came back with a vengeance, as if angry to have been pushed aside by Fang. She groaned as it all came rushing back, like a flame to dry wood. She put on a brave face and gave a shallow smile that fooled no one.

"Hurts a tad." She could barely get out a whisper.

"Oh my goodness, your painkillers must have worn off! I know that look anywhere, Claire gives it to me when she's trying to make me not worry. Hold on one sec..." Serah started rummaging through the bag that she had brought in the room. "Aha! Here we go. Now, I'm gonna need you to drink this up." She walked forward towards Fang, lifting a small bottle towards her.

Fang reached out and caught her hand. Snow started forward in alarm, but Serah waved him back. "What is it?" she gently asked the Pulse warrior.

Fang gave a grimace. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry. I was freaked out earlier-"

Serah cut her off. "Don't worry about it. I understand more than you think. Now why don't you tell me your name after you drink this up." Serah seemed more concerned about Fang's well-being than what had happened earlier that day.

The Pulse-born finally tilted her head back and allowed Serah to pour the medicine into her mouth. Her lips twisted after she finished drinking, but she immediately felt a cool wave wash over her. Serah watched her intently, and in Fang's mind it was as if the blue in her eyes washed over the pain as it exited her body.

_Vile stuff though_, she thought to herself._ Not sayin' I don't appreciate it, but I wish I had one of Vanille's Cures right about now. At least **that** doesn't have a bad taste._

Fang cleared her throat and said, "My name is Oerba Yun Fang. Nice to meet ya."

Serah gave a huge smile. "Well hi there, Oerba. My name is Serah Farron, and this is Snow Villiers." She motioned towards Snow, and he gave a slight wave and a sheepish laugh.

Fang couldn't stop the chuckle from bursting out of her mouth. It dissolved to full body laughter and abruptly died down as she realized with a wonder that there wasn't any pain.

_Stuff's not so bad I guess. Gonna take forever to get this damn taste out of my mouth, though._

With a smirk on her mouth, she explained to the bemused Snow and Serah. "My name is Fang; Oerba is my birthplace and Yun is my clan."

"Oh! I kind of thought that was a weird name." Serah gave a short giggle, then she seemed to realize her mistake. "Oops! I'm sorry, hope I didn't offend you."

"Bah, you saved my life. You can say what you like, I'm happy to be alive. Besides, " Fang leaned forward and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "It -is- a weird name."

With the tension successfully defused, everyone burst into laughter. When the laughter had died down, Snow looked towards Fang.

"Fang. How exactly did you end up laying in the middle of street in Cocoon of all places? Negotiations haven't exactly been friendly since the war started last year-"

Fang's eyes snapped towards Snow in alarm. "Wait! What do you mean last year? Gran Pulse declared war on Cocoon last week! I should know, the council was held in Oerba."

Serah and Snow glanced at each other. "Fang..." Serah started slowly. "It's been a year and one week since the war started."

Fang put her hands over her face. Despair washed over her as the depth of that statement sunk in. "Damnit!" she cursed.

She gave a sardonic laugh. "Did I hit my head or something? Did I really lose a year -and- Vanille? Some big sister I am." Quiet seemed to permeate the room.

"Is Vanille your sister?" Serah quietly asked after several long moments of silence. Fang looked up to see concern filling those bright blue eyes. Fang was amazed that Serah continued to care so much for a Pulse-born.

"Yeah, adopted," Fang clarified after a brief pause, unable to fight back a yawn from overtaking her. "Still love her like she's blood though; I'd do anything to keep her safe, ya know?"

Serah just nodded. Claire had a lot in common with this Pulse warrior lying in front of her; they both had the same mentality when it came to protecting their little sister.

Another question popped in Serah's mind. "Do you remember anything before we found you in that alley?"

Fang's eyebrows drew down in concentration. "Well, let me see here..." She nodded slowly. "I remember waking up in a building with these chunks of bluish crystal around me. Looked like a lab, definitely military. Damn sure freaked me out. Anyway, I busted up out of there and these guys with guns were definitely not happy about that. That's the last thing I remember though."

Snow put his hands behind his head and paced. "Did... any of them look like Lightning?" Snow stopped and asked suddenly.

Fang chuckled and grinned wickedly at Snow. "If any of them looked like Lightning I mighta just let them take me."

Snow held up his hands while Serah giggled. "You are definitely a braver woman than me, Fang. But seriously, what did their uniforms look like?"

The bronze warrior looked thoughtful for a second. The soldiers that she had battled had been trained exceptionally well, a cut above what Fang had been expecting. "They had...red and black uniforms, with a patch that said PSI on their arms. That mean anything to ya?"

Both Snow and Serah looked startled. Fang lifted an eyebrow at their surprise. "Well? Don't keep me hanging, yeah?" she said impatiently.

"Well..." Serah started.

Snow cut in, "It's just that the PSI Commandos are somewhat of a rumor. They've never really been announced to the public. The rumors started not long after the war started. They supposedly have top notch training and access to the best tech money can buy."

Fang snorted. "Tech. Ha! Never understood why Cocoon always relied on tech when magic is just fine. Relying too much on tech makes ya weak."

"Hey!" Serah said with an indignant glare. "It's not like we have a choice. Only Pulse-borns can use magic."

Fang just smirked and shook her head, not bothering to correct her. "Forget I said anything. Didn't mean to offend. After all, ya saved my life, least I can do-" Fang interrupted herself with another massive yawn that seemed to take the life out of her. She slumped her shoulders before saying, "Jeez, what was in that stuff you gave me? I feel like I've been sparring all day."

"Oh!" Serah exclaimed. "Sorry I forgot, that stuff knocks you out. Helps with the healing process. You'll wake up hurting again, but we'll just give you some more to help you sleep." Serah got up and walked to the door with Snow at her back. "We'll talk some more after you get some rest. After you're all healed up, we'll see about helping you find your sister, okay?"

Fang shook her head stubbornly. "No, you guys have done enough. I won't bother you with my troubles."

Serah turned her head up at that statement. "Hmmm, we'll talk about it later. Sleep well, Fang."

Fang just sighed. _Somehow I think she's not gonna give that up so easy._

* * *

_A/N: Hey guys, I swear I'm getting better. The story will pick up a little bit after this, I've gotten most of the intro out that I wanted to. Fang and Light will meet next chapter, and I'll introduce some familiar characters. Don't forget to review! Tell me what you think of what's going on, and ideas are always welcome._


	4. Chapter 4

_Precision._

_Efficiency._

_Aloofness._

Those were the qualities of a perfect soldier. Emotion in the heat of battle got you killed. In Lightning's mind it was simple; if she died, then she couldn't protect Serah. When their parents first died, she realized very quickly that she had very few skills that were useful in Cocoon. She was a good fighter, so the Guardian Corps were ideal. Being good just wasn't enough though. She'd seen good soldiers get killed.

So she became a perfect soldier.

Even with as young as Lightning was, her superiors knew they had talent. They threw promotions at her left and right, and she steadily climbed the ranks from grunt to Sergeant. Other soldiers were envious of her quick rise; she didn't care. The pay increases helped to make life comfortable for Serah, so she took the promotions. There were downsides to the promotions though.

_Like this._

Lightning sighed as she pushed the door open to the recruit waiting area. She hated training new recruits. Luckily she was an advanced field instructor, so she didn't have to train them from the ground up. She looked at the clipboard that she had brought with her.

"Estheim, Hope!" she called out. A young man walked up, dressed in standard issue recruit armor of unmarked black with a gold GC on his breast. Like her, he had only one spaulder, but it had no stripes of rank. The young recruit had short, messy silver hair and his blue-green eyes settled on Lightning as he saluted. She motioned for him to wait out in the hall, and he walked through the door.

Lightning gave a mental groan as she read the next name. She paused, tempted to skip that person, but at the last second decided against it.

"Villiers, Lebreau!" The pink haired soldier glared at Snow's sister as she sauntered up and snapped a lazy salute. Lebreau was adopted of course, seeing as she looked nothing like Snow with black, shoulder length hair, brown eyes, and slightly darker skin. She was admittedly surprised to see her dressed in the standard recruit armor. However, it seemed that she had ordered a size too small, seeing as the armor was glued to her like a second skin. Lightning looked around and scowled, incorrectly assuming that Lebreau was the sole reason for all the stares directed their way. She jabbed her finger towards the door and followed Lebreau as she walked through it.

Both new recruits turned to face her and saluted as she came out.

"At ease, recruits." Lebreau and Hope relaxed their posture and held their hands behind their back. All new recruits had to pass a barrage of tests at the Military Academy to even become a recruit in the Guardian Corps, the least of which being how to properly address a superior officer.

Lightning's face was impassive as she studied the two new soldiers, even though her icy gaze paused briefly on Lebreau. She spoke in a sharp, clipped tone, "My name is Sergeant Lightning Farron, and I will be your advanced field instructor once you finish your three week weapons training. All recruits train as a hit squad of three, with an officer being your lead. Get used to each other, because you will be seeing a lot of your partner over the course of your training and possible deployment."

Lightning handed them both signed papers. "Take these to the quartermaster down the hall. He will get you set up in the barracks and give you your training schedules."

Hope ventured to ask a question of the beautiful, but intimidating sergeant. "Sir, when do we get our weapons?"

Lightning's stare swept over to Hope and he could barely withhold a cringe. "When I can trust you not to kill yourselves with them, recruit. Any other useless questions?" She paused for a moment and continued, "Good. I will be back in three weeks and we will pick up your field training then. Dismissed."

Both recruits snapped a salute and turned to walk off, with Hope's being the shakier of the two. Lightning called out to them, "Villiers! A moment please."

Hope and Lebreau glanced at each other. Hope whispered, "Good luck..." Lebreau just smiled and winked at him before turning and sauntering back. The silver haired recruit just shook his head and continued walking. "Figures I get the crazy partner and the crazier sergeant," he muttered to himself as he navigated the base.

Lebreau made her way back to in front of the sergeant and threw a weak smile with her salute. Lightning just continued to stare at her with no emotion on her face. The spunky recruit tried to match her stare and failed miserably. Several seconds went by.

Lebreau caved first, of course. "Snow doesn't know okay? I took classes at the Academy with some of the money I had been saving up so I could join the Guardian Corps," she tried to explain to the frosty eyed sergeant. She rambled on, "It's good money here, and I've always dreamed of doing this..."

Lightning's disapproving voice cut through her chatter, "You know I'm going to tell him."

Lebreau sighed. She had been afraid of this happening when Lightning had walked through the door. She should have known it would be too much to hope that Serah's sister would keep her secret for her. Lebreau had come too far to give up now, though. Her mouth set in a stubborn line as she snapped a perfect salute. "I'm a recruit of the Guardian Corps, sir! I came this far, and I won't be giving up now, sir!"

The sergeant looked at her thoughtfully. Deep inside her, behind all the walls that she had built up over the years, something chimed within her at the recruit's speech. It was faint and almost nonexistent, but she thought she understood the position Lebreau was in. Lightning saw a surprised look on Lebreau's face when she nodded in approval.

"Just wanted to make sure you weren't going to be distracted, recruit. Dismissed," Lightning waved her off. Lebreau couldn't keep the smile off her face as she turned, but the pink haired solder hardly noticed. She had already moved on to the problems at home in her mind.

* * *

Lightning sighed as she turned the corner where her apartment was located. She knew she would have to deal with Snow and his idiocy as soon as she got home. With all that was going on, he was a headache she would prefer not to deal with. However, the main problem she was focused on was the Pulsian warrior sleeping in her apartment. She wasn't quite sure what had possessed her to take her in and nurse her back to health. Not only was it illegal to harbor Pulse fugitives, it put Serah at risk. She never put Serah at risk if she could help it, but she had acted instinctually as soon as she had seen her lying there in the cold, damp alley.

The pink haired soldier shook her head in frustration. Her instincts must be getting rusty, especially since the warrior attacked her as soon as she woke up. Lightning couldn't believe how strong she had been, far outstripping Serah's hulking boyfriend in pure power. Even after she had been attacked and nearly killed, a feeling deep inside urged her that this particular raven haired Pulsian could be trusted. It had been a long time since Lightning had been affected by anything not related to protecting and providing for Serah. However Lightning resolved that she would not hesitate to put down the Pulsian warrior if she threatened the safety of Serah again, regardless of any feeling she might have had.

Lightning nearly smiled in satisfaction. Things had fallen back into place in her black and white world once again. For her, there was only the need to protect Serah. Lightning knew that was the least she could do after what had happened so many years ago. She had to do it, because no one else could.

Her thoughts turned grim, Lightning unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside. Her eyes scanned over the house with the well trained eye of a soldier, picking up minor details around the room. The furniture inside was sparse, but you could see the small attempts that Serah had made to liven the place up over the years. Flowers sat in a vase on the coffee table, an artwork hung above the couch, and brightly colored pillows brought life to an otherwise drab living room. Serah was always doing little things like that to ease the cold, functional feel of the house. Lightning allowed it, simply because it made Serah happy. Personally, she couldn't see the use of such things, although she had to admit they had grown on her after awhile.

Lightning paused and listened to the muffled voices coming from the kitchen. They obviously hadn't heard her enter the house yet.

"-wonder what Claire will think of her? I like her so far, she's been nothing but polite. Ooh! I wonder how old Vanille is? I should have asked her when she was awake. I've got so many questions still!" Serah's bubbly voice cut through the muffled talk as her sister walked closer to the kitchen.

Lightnings eyebrows turned down and a scowl came across her face. She turned the corner to find Serah facing Snow with her back to Lightning. Snow's eyes immediately jumped to Lightning's furious face and gulped audibly.

"Snow? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a fiend. I'm pretty sure- Ooh." Serah's sentence terminated abruptly and she gave a squeak as she turned and saw Lightning's scowling visage.

"You." Lightning jabbed a finger towards Snow and pointed a thumb behind her. "Out. I'll deal with you later." Snow gave an audible sigh of relief, shot an apologetic look at Serah, and darted towards the front door. Lightning crossed her arms and gave Serah a withering glare. It was not often that her sister caught the full brunt of the icy glare that her soldiers were so familiar with. Serah crumpled under the pressure immediately and started babbling apologies.

"I'm sorry! I know I wasn't supposed to wake her up without you here! I just..." Excuse after excuse poured out of Serah's mouth, and Lightning steadfastly ignored them all. She let Serah spew out the explanations until the weight of Lightning's stare made her trail off. Serah looked down and started wringing her hands anxiously. Lightning gave a huge sigh.

"How am I supposed to protect you if you deliberately put yourself in danger when I'm gone? If I hadn't taken the next three weeks off to deal with this, you would be on lockdown. As it is, don't expect to go anywhere without me, especially nowhere near that Pulsian." At the mention of Lightning taking time off, Serah's head came up sharply and her mouth dropped in surprise. She looked so shocked that Lightning had to ask her what was wrong several times before she answered.

"You took time off!? You never take time off. _Ever._" Serah's mouth worked as she tried to get more words out. Lightning looked at her sheepishly and started rubbing the back of her neck. Serah was the only one where her emotional walls relaxed enough to get these kinds of reactions out Lightning. Pink rose on her cheeks as she scrambled to explain that Amodar had given her more time than she had expected.

"Besides," she said. "We have to do something about this damned Pulsian."

"Fang." Serah replied back absently. When Lightning glanced at her quizzically, the younger sister elaborated, "Her name is Fang." Lightning was reminded of her anger at her sister.

Lightning grumbled, "What kind of name is Fang anyway? Figures we would get the Pulsian with a weird name." Serah raised an eyebrow at her sister. She couldn't remember the last time that Lightning was so off balance. Usually she was precise and to the point, with nothing ever ruffling her feathers.

Serah gave a small chuckle as she pointed out something. "You know...Lightning isn't the most...normal...of names either." Lightning just gave her a glare in return.

In an attempt to salvage her pride, Lightning changed the subject. "So what did you find out about her?" Serah became animated as she quickly filled in Lightning with the story that she had gotten out of Fang.

"She should be up and around tomorrow, in fact!" Serah excitedly said.

Lightning gave her a suspicious look. There was no way that someone would be able to recover from the extensive wounds that this Fang had suffered so quickly. Unless...

"Serah," Lightning said sharply. "Where's the Elixir? You know, the one that it took forever for me to find, and cost me through the nose to get? The one that is supposed to be only used for emergencies?" Serah wilted with each thing that Lightning listed.

She gave a tremulous smile as she replied, "I...uh...used it on Fang?"

Lightning just collapsed into a dining room chair, slumped her head in her arms, and groaned. The truth of the matter was she couldn't even be angry at Serah. She couldn't even help but feel a tiny bit of pride in the fact that Serah was willing to do so much for a stranger. It meant that Lightning hadn't done too bad a job of raising her, despite the fact that she herself wouldn't go so far for a complete stranger, not to mention an enemy of her country. It meant that she had raised Serah to be better than herself, which was the reason why she could never be angry for too long at her little sister.

Lightning felt small arms wrap around her and Serah rested her head on Lightning's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to make you worry. I love you, sis." Lightning raised herself up from the table and returned the hug.

"It's fine, really. Don't worry about it." Lightning lifted Serah's chin to look into her disbelieving eyes and gave one of her slight smiles. "Really, I'm fine. I love you too." Lightning wrapped her back up into a massive hug.

They separated after a moment. Lightning coughed and averted her eyes. She was unused to displaying so much emotion, even around Serah. This whole ordeal had her nerves frazzled and kept her off balance.

"Listen, I'm going to go in there and sit guard in case she wakes up. I'd like to talk to her myself if she wakes up, and it would make me feel better if I was in there alone." Serah nodded after Lightning had finished. "If you need me, just knock on the door and wait for me to answer. I don't want to take any chances."

Serah nodded again, and the two sisters went separate ways through house.

* * *

Lightning turned to watch the sunset through the window from the chair that she had pulled up next to the bed in the guest bedroom. Orange light bathed the room and the two figures within. She had been sitting in there for several hours, sitting guard, as she had called it. She shook her head. It wasn't so much sitting guard as just watching the woman named Fang sleep.

Lightning turned back to the bed to see Fang lit up by the setting sun through the window. Her bronzed skin gleamed in the sunlight, and messy hair cast jagged shadows over her face. Fang's face looked so peaceful, such a contrast from the last time the soldier had seen her. Lightning leaned forward, reached her hand out and hesitated, but continued forward to brush the hair from Fang's face. High cheekbones gave way to full, dark lips and Lightning had to admit to herself that this Pulsian was gorgeous, to say the least.

Lightning started to pull her hand back, but was caught as Fang opened her bright green eyes and immediately focused them on Lightning's deep blue eyes. Lightning's hand froze next to Fang's face and she was suddenly aware of how close she was to the Pulsian warrior. Lightning took a sharp intake of breath and she felt her chest surge strangely. Fang stared into her eyes, and Lightning felt as if those jade eyes could see right through her and directly into her soul, bypassing every wall she had ever thought of erecting to stop someone.

Fang woke to someone gently brushing the hair out of her face. She opened her eyes and was immediately drawn to the face so close to hers. Shockingly blue eyes locked on to hers as she drank in the sight that filled her vision. Pink hair framed an ivory face that was set into a gentle expression, so different from when Fang had first seen her. Fang's breath caught in her chest as she was drawn back to her eyes, so deep and bright that it made her feel as if she were gently drowning in them. Fang watched as those pools of bright blue widened, and she thought she caught that ivory face darken before the beauty turned away abruptly, breaking the connection and reminding Fang to breathe.

Fang closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. _What was that?_

She opened her eyes back up to see that Lightning had moved away from the chair next to her and was now staring out the window. Several moments passed as Fang tried to puzzle out what had just occurred.

Lightning spoke suddenly, breaking the silence like the crack of a whip. "Don't try anything. I'm here to make sure that my sister is safe, which means I _will_ put you down." Her voice was as cold as ice, and showed no hint of the gentleness that Fang had seen just a moment ago. Fang could practically feel the tension rolling off the woman's shoulders.

Lightning was furious with herself. She couldn't believe that she had slipped in her watch of the deadly Pulse warrior. She was even angrier that she couldn't decipher what had actually happened.

"My, my, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" Fang chuckled.

Lightning whipped her head around, but she could only stare incredulously at the woman across the room.

She was laughing. Lightning had just threatened her with death or worse, and Fang was laughing her head off. She stalked towards the bed, but stopped when Fang put her hands up in mock surrender. Lightning settled with glowering at the Pulse warrior while she caught her breath.

"Hold on there, Sunshine! I'm injured right now, but I'll be glad to spar with ya after I heal up, yeah?" Fang smirked at the irate soldier standing next to the bed. "That is, if ya think ya can handle it."

Lightning just shot her another withering glare and turned back towards the window. Silence once again permeated the room, prompting the pink haired soldier to turn back to see if Fang had fallen asleep. The Pulse warrior was wide awake, and had gotten caught staring at Lightning.

Lightning huffed and turned back to the window. "Don't you have anything better to do than stare at me?" Lightning studied the reflection of Fang in the window.

Fang just smiled even wider than before and cast a lazy roving eye over Lightning. "Even if I did Sunshine, I think I would stare at ya anyway. Pretty good view if ya ask me." Fang was enjoying pushing Lightning's buttons. It seemed as if it didn't happen very often, and it was throwing the soldier off balance.

Lightning just sighed in exasperation. She decided to change the subject. "Do you remember anything before the lab? You know, the one you woke up in?"

Fang tilted her head in confusion for a minute before realizing that Serah must have talked about what she had said. "Ah, your sister is a sneaky one, pumping me for info like that." She smirked and paused, gathering her thoughts. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Me and Vanille were out hunting like usual, we both fell asleep by the fire. I woke up in a lab." Fang just shrugged.

Lightning turned back to look at Fang as she got a concentrated look on her face. Fang's eyes closed and she held a hand up to her head. Lightning's eyes drew down in concern. "Are you alright?" _What am I doing? Why do I even care? _

Fang kept her eyes tightly squeezed shut. Flashes of something were coming back to her. She remembered being carried, a flash of sidewalk here, a man's boots there. Her head had rolled back, and she recalled struggling to open her eyes just once. A rush of colors almost overwhelmed her senses as her eyelids cracked open. "They were carrying me...I remember seeing a massive dome, filled with water. There were people swimming around in it. I remember thinking I was crazy, because no way there's a fishbowl that big." Fang opened her eyes again to find Lightning looking at her with her head tilted. She could've sworn she caught the tail end of a soft smile, but it was so fleeting she doubted it's existence.

"That's no fishbowl, that's the blitzball arena in Nautilus. It looks like we have our first lead. We'll have to check it out as soon as you are up to it."

"Up to it? Hell, let's go now Sunshine! I'm a Yun, we're up for anything." With that statement, Fang tried to sit up. Pain lanced through her body before she even got halfway, and her progress was reversed as she arched in pain. Fang gave a long groan and Lightning darted over to her side.

The soldier gently pushed Fang down on the bed, and covered her up again. "I don't think you're quite ready to take on the world yet, Yun Fang." Once again, the faint echo of a smile flashed over her features, almost invisible to anyone who wasn't looking for it.

Fang snorted, but didn't disagree with her. Fatigue washed over her in waves, and she let a yawn slip out. Her eyelids started to droop as the talking caught up to her.

Lightning continued to watch the Pulse native as the rise of her chest started to slow down. Her eyes shot back up to Fang's face as she spoke, "Hey Lightning?"

Instinctively, Lightning responded, "Call me Light." Hearing her full name hadn't sounded right coming from the Pulsian warrior.

A slow, beautiful smile broke out over Fang's face as she looked at Lightning through half lidded eyes. "Light," she breathed, almost as if tasting how the word rolled off her tongue. "Ya got my back, right? Gonna... " Another yawn broke through her sentence. "Take first watch?"

Lightning looked at her with another of her almost-smiles. "Yeah Fang, I got it. Sleep well."

Oerba Yun Fang fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

_A/N: Sorry for the time between updates, but I couldn't rush this one. Had to make it perfect._

_ As always, let me know what you think._


	5. Inside It's Raining

Serah hummed in her cup as she gazed out the window in her small kitchen. Her eyes blinked sleepily as she gazed out at the rain. Rain had always seemed to be two opposing sides of the same coin. On one side you had the murkiness and dreariness that came with the overcast day. On the other side you had the peace and quiet to sort through your thoughts.

It had been three days since Lightning had come home, and Fang showed no signs of awakening. Serah was worried about Fang, enough to start thinking it was a good idea to take her to a hospital, regardless of the risk of exposing her to the public. Serah chewed her lip unconsciously, a nervous tick that she had picked up over time.

Serah was also worried about her sister. Lightning had hardly left the room that Fang was in, and had even taken to sleeping on a cot she had made on the floor of the room. The soldier had insisted that it was to guard Serah, but she avoided her little sister's eyes as she said it. Serah had taken to bringing her meals into the guest bedroom for Lightning, and always found her sitting in the chair next to Fang's bed. When Serah had gone in last night to collect the dishes from Lightning's dinner, she had even found her sister slumped over the bed, passed out. Serah thought it was hardly the behavior that she had expected coming from someone who claimed to be guarding Serah from the Pulsian sleeping in the guest bedroom. Serah kept her suspicions to herself, however.

Serah smiled as she felt strong arms wrap around her. Snow had been coming over to spend time with her while they waited for something to happen. It seemed as if the world was holding it's breath while they waited for Fang to come out of her stupor. So much seemed to revolve around the Pulsian that had come into their lives and turned everything that they had assumed about Pulse on it's head. She had a hard time seeing Fang as a bloodthirsty, savage barbarian. Fang was proud and noble, and a better person that a lot of people she had met on Cocoon. It would seem a bit soon to be making such assumptions about a person to most people, but Serah trusted her instincts. She had never been off when it came to her judge of character.

Serah tapped Snow on the arms and bustled over to the counter when he released her. She hummed a nonsensical tune as she started preparing breakfast. She loved the fact that her and Snow could almost seem to communicate without words sometimes. She supposed it came with being with someone for so long.

Savory smells started to drift from the stove as she prepared a hearty breakfast for the occupants of the house. She heard Snow give an appreciative groan from the table as he settled himself in to wait for the feast. "Smells good, Ser!" he exclaimed with a huge grin and a huge catlike stretch. Serah just gave him one of her gentle smiles as she busied herself.

Serah froze as she heard a lilting voice echo from outside the kitchen. "Damn that smells good! I feel like I haven't eaten in days." Serah rushed out of the kitchen, but stopped herself abruptly as Fang came into view. Both her and Snow just stared at the Pulse native as she stopped in front of the table. Aside from looking a little pale, the warrior looked perfectly healthy.

"What? Do I have somethin' on my face?" Fang smirked and clasped her hands behind her neck. "Ya'll look like you've seen a ghost."

Serah couldn't help but stutter when she tried to answer, "Yo-You've been...asleep for three days! I thought you were never gonna wake up!" Serah's voice got steadily higher and wavered as she tried to explain.

Fang's face fell as she studied the look on the smaller girl's face. She instantly felt bad for poking fun at her. "Ah, well I'm sorry I worried ya," she replied sheepishly.

Serah just shook herself out of it. "No, no. Nothing to apologize for. You must be starving! Sit down and I'll make you something to eat." Fang looked bemused as she was bustled into a chair and Serah darted back towards the kitchen.

Snow met her glance easily. He held up his hands again, "Hey don't look at me. She does it to everyone. Her cooking is more than worth it though." The big man chuckled and gave one of his trademark huge grins as he rubbed his stomach eagerly. Fang just shook her head and laughed at the blonde's antics.

Snow leaned forward, his face serious once again. "So how did you give Lightning the slip? I can never get past that damn woman, she's got the ears of a bat!"

The Pulsian warrior smirked at the image that provoked in her head and shrugged. "It was easy enough, I suppose. Sunshine was passed out cold when I snuck out." Snow gave her a strange look and opened his mouth, but was distracted by Serah staggering back in, overloaded with plates. He got up and easily snatched a few from her hands and helped her set the table.

Fang wasted no time heaping her plate with an enormous amount of food. The breakfast passed in silent appreciation as the delicious food was consumed quickly. Serah was amazed at the amount of food that Fang put away.

Fang noticed the glances from Snow and Serah. "It's a Yun thing," she explained. "We are blessed with enormous strength and increased senses, but we have to eat a lot to maintain our bodies."

"Wow..." Serah said. "Are there any other downsides?" Serah's curious blue eyes rested on the Pulsian warrior.

Fang hesitated for a moment, staring down at her plate, and ran her fork through her food. She wasn't sure she should tell her new friends everything, especially Gran Pulse secrets. Fang knew they wouldn't hurt her with the information, but more than that was at stake if the information slipped out. Fang reasoned that this much could be told, simply because the war had already been going on for a year and this tidbit had probably already been discovered.

"The drawback is that Yuns aren't very strong in wielding external magic. We can do the basics, but so much of our magic is bound in our bodies that we can't do much else." Fang let out a sigh after she finished. It felt good to not lie to her new friends. She didn't want deceit to come between them so soon.

Serah just smiled in reply and laid a hand over her own. She seemed to understand what Fang was thinking. Fang just smiled gratefully at her for the show of support. Still smiling, Serah got up and collected the plates. She returned from the kitchen with another plate.

Fang quickly stood up. "Hey, is that for Light? I'll bring it to her." She scooped the plate out of Serah's hands and gave her a smile.

Fang didn't see the shocked look that Snow and Serah exchanged as she walked off with the plate.

* * *

The corners of Fang's lips tugged up in a smile as she closed the guest bedroom door gently behind her. Lightning was still asleep in the chair by the bed, slumped over the edge. Fang crossed the room and laid the plate on the nightstand before she knelt in front of the soldier.

The Pulsian gently shook Lightning. "Hey Sunshine, wake up. I got you some food." Fang saw Lightning's head raise in confusion, her hair ruffled in a tangled mess. Her blue orbs darted around as Lightning struggled to get the haze of sleep out of them. Fang felt the soldier stiffen as she realized that someone was touching her and felt the tension rise exponentially. Lightning jerked away from her abruptly with a panicked look in her eyes and turned away from her arms pressed tightly to her sides. The Pulsian tilted her head as Lightning took rapid breaths. Fang could tell that this wasn't the same tension that was present the last time Lightning had touched her. This tension wasn't playful or sexual, it was frightened.

Fang reached out to the solder. "Light, are y-"

"Don't touch me!" the soldier hissed.

Lightning's frantic, glazed eyes locked on to Fang's bright greens as she panted for breath. Fang ignored the strange hurt she felt at that statement and kept her eyes locked with Lightning's, trying to will her to come back. Her breathing gradually slowed down, and Fang could see reason start to filter in through her gaze. For several long seconds, neither of them said anything.

Lightning finally broke the eye contact and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry, I-"

She broke off as Fang spoke. "Hey." Fang reached out and guided Lightning's face back to look at her. Fang felt Lightning tense as she was touched, but the soldier relaxed almost immediately. Fang smiled as those cerulean eyes came back into view. Fang spoke in a gentle voice,"Ya don't have to apologize for anything. I'm sorry I startled ya." Fang knew it was more than simply being startled, but she could tell the soldier wasn't ready to talk about it. Lightning just nodded slowly in understanding. "Now eat up, Sunshine. I brought ya some food. I'm gonna go get cleaned up, okay?"

Fang didn't wait around for an answer. She somehow knew that Lightning would need a minute.

* * *

Fang leaned on the wall outside the door and let out a deep breath. It shouldn't be natural to be so deathly worried over someone she had just met. The look in Lightning's eyes had frightened Fang, worse than just about anything she could ever remember. Something had happened in Lightning's past, and whatever it was had left its mark.

"Are you okay?" Serah's worried tone broke through her thoughts. She glanced down to see the smaller pink haired woman staring at her, wringing her hands. Fang moved off the wall and deeper into the house.

She looked over and smiled reassuringly at Serah. "Yeah, I'm just fine. Lightning just freaked me out a little in there."

Serah nodded soberly. "Did she have one of her nightmares?"

Fang shot a surprised look at Serah. "This has happened before?"

Serah sighed and continued, "Yes. Something...terrible...happened to her after our parents died. It scarred her. At that moment, she stopped being Claire Farron, and became Lightning Farron. She won't even tell me what actually happened." An old sadness seemed to be etched into Serah's features.

Fang felt a surge of undirected anger and sadness. It was strange how intense those two emotions spiraled inside of her, all for a near stranger. Her hands clenched and unclenched uselessly. She finally sighed and let go of her emotions. There was nothing that could be done at this point in time. Answers would come if she was patient, as much as it irked her to think it. Vanille always told her she was horrible at waiting.

Serah seemed to shake off the weighty emotions that filled the air. "Anyway, I brought you some clothes." She shoved a pile of folded clothes in Fang's arms. Fang looked at the Cocoon clothes distastefully. "Oh don't look at them like that, you need them to blend in. You'll be a dead giveaway in those clothes, especially in Nautilus." Fang's face brightened at the mention of Nautilus, and she resolved to deal with the strange clothes. Serah continued on, "Also, you'll probably want to take a shower, it's up the stairs to your left." Serah bounced away after that, and Fang just shook her head. She couldn't understand where the girl got the energy.

Fang started up the stairs, pausing here and there to look at pictures hanging on the wall. Lightning always had the same expression in all the pictures, no expression. Fang halted abruptly as she came upon an old picture. A tall man and a woman stood with two little girls, probably no older than thirteen. The women in the picture all had the signature pink hair of the Farron family. The smaller girl was scowling with her hands crossed, but the sight that captivated Fang was the older of the two girls. The girl had a wide smile on her face, and her cerulean eyes danced with laughter. It was the first smile Fang had seen from Lightning, and it was beautiful.

Fang stubbornly promised herself that she would see that smile again, no matter what it took.

* * *

_A/N: Shorter chapter this time, sort of a transition. Main story is going to pick up next chapter, and you might get some answers. :)_

_Thanks for the reviews/follows/favs, guys and girls. It means a lot to me._


	6. Sweet Dreams

_Thwack. Thwack._

Snow and Serah watched in awe as the rapid sounds rang through the park they were in. Fang and Lightning were sparring, if you could describe the lethal dance that they were participating in with such a simple term. Both of the warriors seemed to be a blur to the two sitting on the park bench.

Fang was dressed in tight black shorts, matching form fitting sleeveless top, and a bright smile. Her eyes gleamed in the overcast day, and sweat shone on her bronzed skin as both fighters reached a lull in the fight. She never felt quite as alive as when she was fighting. Her happiness was compounded by the fact that she was fighting with Lightning. She had never found her equal in Gran Pulse, but it seemed that one good thing had come out of being stranded on Cocoon. Her strength matched perfectly to Lightning's speed, like two sides of the same coin. She firmly believed that a person's soul shone through when they were fighting. Combat was the purest form of truth and the truth was that fighting with Lightning was addicting, a perfect high with no negative effects. It shone in her eyes, and she could see it reflected back at her in those flashing blue eyes.

Fang's eyes shone in mirth as she taunted the pink haired soldier, "What's wrong, Light? Slowin' down? Need a handicap?" A smirk grew on her face as she saw Lightning's eyes widen in outrage and a scowl come over her face. Fang loved any reaction she got out of the soldier, especially since she seemed so immune to anyone else. She hated the emotionless mask she had occasionally seen on the soldier's face, and she strove to keep that mask broken whenever she saw it come up. Fang had been up and around for a few days now, waiting on transportation to Nautilus. She had caught glimpses of Light as she was around other people and it had made her wonder why she acted so differently around Fang when they were alone.

Fang instinctually jerked her spear up as a gunblade swung towards her face and barely blocked the strike. "Better pay attention, Fang," Lightning growled in an amused tone. "Wouldn't want to smash that pretty face of yours." Fang gave a mighty heave and pushed Lightning backwards, only to watch as the soldier turned her momentum into a backflip and stood facing her.

Fang gave a suggestive smirk and a wink to Lightning. "I knew you thought I was pretty." Fang's smirk widened as Lightning's face flushed a bright red and she rushed towards the Pulsian. Expecting another blade strike, Fang was surprised as Lightning threw away her blade and threw herself at the Pulsian. Fang cursed as she was forced to turn her spear aside so as not to impale the crazy pink haired soldier. Both the fighters tumbled to the ground with a grunt, with Fang losing her spear in the tumble and Lightning quickly straddling Fang to pin her wrists down.

Fang looked up and her breath caught in her chest. Lightning's pink hair was ruffled and matted down with sweat. Her cerulean eyes shone with triumph and a grin cracked her face as she gulped down air. Fang could smell the mint on Lightning's breath as she panted in front of her face and the warrior saw Lightning start to realize how close they actually were to each other. Fang couldn't resist teasing the uptight soldier a little bit.

Fang gave out a breathy moan and rolled her eyes back. "Ooh, Light...," she dragged out. She snapped her eyes back to the soldier and saw Lightning's eyes widen and pink start to rise on her cheeks. A suggestive smirk grew on Fang's face and she gazed at Lightning with smoky, half-lidded eyes. Fang's voice was husky and low as she continued, "If ya wanted to let off some steam, all ya had to do was tell me. I'm _more_ than willing." Fang watched as the red rose ever higher on the soldier's cheeks with every breathy word that Fang spoke. Lightning seemed to be frozen where she was though. Fang's head tilted and she rolled her hips underneath Lightning as she continued to tease, "I mean look at us...All sweaty and _wet_." Fang put a special emphasis on the last word. Lightning's face finally flamed to full scarlet and she pulled away from Fang and took off running.

Fang sat up immediately and called out after Lightning, concern lacing her voice. "Light! Wait!" Fang jumped up to her feet and chased after her sparring partner, cursing the whole way.

Snow started to rise from the bench where they had been watching the fight, but was restrained by Serah's arm on his sleeve. Serah shook her head and said, "They'll be fine. Chances are Fang pissed Claire off and now she has to apologize. It would be better not to interfere." Snow just nodded in resignation and settled in to enjoy the quiet with Serah.

* * *

Lightning rested her head against the tree she was sitting beneath while she tried to get her breathing under control. Her heart felt as if it was galloping through her chest, and she suspected it had nothing to do with the sprint she had just done. Fang's words had affected her, more than she cared to admit. It frightened her to think that she lost control so quickly around a near stranger. No one had ever drawn such a reaction out of her. It scared her even more to think that she felt such strong emotions while it seemed like a game to Fang. She tried to shut away her emotions while around Fang, but the Pulse native seemed determined to shred her walls at every opportunity.

Lightning let out a long shuddering breath. She could hear Fang calling her name through the woods, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before she was found. She cocked her head as she heard a strange note in Fang's voice as she called out.

"Light, where are you!?"

Fang felt horribly. She wasn't quite sure what she had said wrong, but Light had obviously reacted badly. Nightmare scenarios were running through her mind at top speed as she walked through the rapidly darkening forest.

_Oh Etro, she probably hates me now._

The thought pulled her up short as another rang through her mind.

_Why does that matter so much to me?_

Fang shook the thought off and continued scanning the forest for Lightning. She turned and caught a glimpse of pink behind a wide tree. She slowed as she started to approach.

Lightning heard the yells from Fang die off. She pulled her knees up and wrapped her arms around them. She had resigned to herself that Fang had probably given up when all of a sudden she was kneeling in front of her. Lightning blinked slowly as Fang rested her hands on her arms, too startled to have her customary tension at someone touching her.

Fang's voice faded into her awareness, "...mean, you could've been hurt! I was worried..." Fang's voice faded out again as Lightning took in those words.

_Worried? About me?_

Lightning interrupted Fang's stream of words. "What do you mean, worried? I can take care of myself, you know. I'm not some helpless-"

Lightning's eyes narrowed as Fang cut her off, "That's not what I mean." She watched as Fang looked away from her for a moment. "I..." Fang took a deep breath and lifted her viridian eyes to meet Lightning's cerulean stare. Lightning's gaze softened as she saw the look in her eyes. Fang started again, "I've already lost Vanille. I couldn't stand it if I lost someone I... That is..."

Fang trailed off as Lightning shook her head. She moved over a bit, patting the patch of ground beside her. The Pulsian gratefully took the spot beside her, and the two sat staring out into the forest with their legs stretched out in front of them. The quiet speech of the forest was the only sound for a while.

Lightning fixed her eyes on the ground and finally began to speak, "I didn't mean to worry you. I..." She paused a moment and collected her thoughts. Fang rearranged herself so she could see the soldier's face.

"I guess I mean to say... I freaked out," Lightning said in a small voice. The admission was difficult for Lightning. She wasn't used to wearing her emotions on her sleeve, but Fang forced it out of her.

She continued after a short pause, "Everything is so easy around you, too easy. I'm not used to easy. I don't deserve easy, after the things I've done." Fang's eyes darkened at the haunted look in Lightning's eyes and she opened her mouth to argue, but Lightning saw her and plowed on through before she could lose her nerve.

"Don't argue. The truth is, we're strangers. You don't know what I've done, and I don't know how you'll react. I'm afraid of your reaction, and how much it means to me. At first I thought you were just toying with me..." An affronted look came over Fang's face, and Lightning let one of her ghost smiles slip. "but I'm beginning to think otherwise. I mean, I don't mind your flirting. That's a part of who you are. I just freaked out a little, and I'm..."

Lightning stopped talking when she felt Fang take her hand and interlace their fingers. She stared at their joined hands for a moment before lifting her gaze and losing herself in the green pools watching her. Fang gave a short shake of the head.

"No apologizin', Sunshine." Fang saw Lightning open her mouth, but she lifted an eyebrow at her. The soldier flushed faintly at Fang's faint chuckle and shut her mouth again.

Fang took their interlaced hands and set them in her lap, Lightning's hand facing up. She placed her other hand on top of Lightning's, and stroked her thumb over the back of the soldier's hand as they both stared out into the forest in silence. Lightning could feel every pass of Fang's thumb over her hand, and it resonated throughout her body. Time seemed to stand still. She slowly came to the realization that she never wanted the feeling that she had right now to end.

Despite the chilliness of the early evening, Lightning felt warm. For just a moment, she was able to forget everything and just focus on the warm hands that held her own. Claire leaned her head back against the tree, closed her eyes, and sighed.

Just as she slipped into a blissful sleep, she heard Fang murmur something that made it even better.

"Don't worry, Light. I'm not goin' anywhere."

* * *

Fang slipped into the apartment, a sleeping Lightning nuzzled in her arms. She shook her head as she glanced down at the pink haired girl. Lightning was curled up as close as possible in her arms. It seemed as if the aloof soldier was an unconscious cuddler.

Luckily Serah had shown her how to operate the thumb pad to get into the place. Gran Pulse's technology had the basics, but Cocoon was way more advanced. Fang secretly thought it was fascinating, but had stubbornly retained her outward disdain towards all advanced technology.

Serah was in the kitchen, busying herself while waiting for the two fighters to get home. She wasn't worried at all, in fact this was fairly common with Lightning having to work odd shifts occasionally. Serah raised an eyebrow in surprise and crossed her arms when she saw Fang turn the corner with Lightning snuggled in her arms.

Fang felt a blush rise on her face and thanked her complexion for hiding it. Fang managed to stammer out an explanation, "She...ah...that is... She fell asleep."

Serah gave a nod, but shot Fang a look that told her she wouldn't be hearing the last of it. Serah pointed up the stairs, "Up the stairs, second door on the right is her room. You might want to get to sleep too, we've got an early train to catch."

Fang nodded and quickly escaped the razor sharp Farron stare. It was unnerving to see the same glare that Lightning used come out of that bubbly woman.

Fang smiled as she passed the picture that she had been looking at earlier on her trip up the stairs. She didn't have to look at the picture to see Lightning smiling; all she had to do was look down. Lightning's face was smooth and peaceful in her sleep, and the corners of her mouth were turned up in a faint smile.

The Pulsian gently eased her way into Lightning's bedroom, leaving the light off. She couldn't see much of the bedroom, but what little she saw was just as she expected. A large bed sat in the middle of the room, with a dresser to the side that had the faint silhouettes of pictures on the top. The room was spotless, and curtains covered the only window, blocking out all light except from the open door. Fang managed to flip up the covers on the bed and lay Lightning down.

Lightning whimpered as Fang pried her arms from around her neck and covered her up. She immediately curled up into her pillow and gave a sigh. The Pulsian let out a breath and turned to walk away.

A breathy whisper froze her in her tracks, "Fang..." The warrior whipped her head back to see Lightning reaching out over the covers. The light from the door fell on Lightning's face enough to see that her eyes were closed, but her face was twisted. Fang's heart surged and melted at the same time. She took half a step forward before another thought ripped across her brain.

_Too soon._

Lightning had freaked out from a little teasing. As much as it tore at Fang to not rush to Lightning, to soothe and hold her, the warrior could only imagine what would happen if the soldier woke up next to Fang, not remembering how she got there. Lightning knew what she wanted in her dreams, but it wasn't reality.

_Yet._

Fang held on to that word like a talisman, and forced herself to turn away.

Once again, her heart was wrenched as Lightning gave out a weak gasp, "No...no more...please..." Lightning's dream had turned to nightmare.

_Compromise._

Before she could even finish the thought, Fang was back by the bedside. The warrior scooped up Lightning's hand with one of hers, and cupped her face with another.

"Hey Sunshine, no nightmares, okay?" Fang whispered in a voice heavy with an emotion she couldn't identify. Lightning's face immediately smoothed, and she let out a heavy sigh.

Fang studied her calm face and even breathing for several moments before determining that the nightmare had been chased away. She hesitated for a second before leaning in and pressing her lips against Lightning's smooth forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Sunshine," she whispered before leaving.

* * *

Lightning studied the bronze Pulsian as she stared out of the window of the train. It seemed absurd to her to even try to disguise Fang. The warrior seemed to exude dangerousness, and had a natural predator feel about her. However, they had managed to get Fang to pack away her tribal garment; she had called it a sari. She was now dressed in jeans and a teasingly midriff baring top. Lightning caught herself staring and jerked her eyes back up. It seemed more tantalizing when Fang had more clothing on that hinted at what she had seen in Fang's tribal wear.

The soldier tore her eyes off the Pulsian and gazed out the window of the train on her side. She had woken up this morning more refreshed than she had felt in years, with no nightmares at all. Fang had seemed distant this morning, hardly acting like herself. Lightning had wanted to question her mood, but she still felt uneasy about talking about private matters in front of Snow and Serah.

At the thought of the two lovebirds, her gaze shifted involuntarily over to their corner of the train compartment. Snow was leaning over and they were whispering into each others ears. Lightning gave a small shudder of nausea at the sight. It still eluded her as to what Serah saw in the hulking idiot.

Like a magnet, Lightning could feel her eyes drawn back to the disguised Pulsian sitting across from her. Fang had her head leaning up against the window with her viridian gaze fixed on Lightning. The soldier could almost hear an audible click as their eyes made contact. Feeling a little more comfortable with the thought of Fang in her head, Lightning met her stare easily and studied the seemingly endless pools of green. Cerulean and viridian eyes clashed against each other, flickering to take in different parts of the other's face in peripheral. Blue eyes flashed as Lightning took in the small smirk that adorned Fang's face and she couldn't resist a ghostlike smile of her own.

Serah's voice broke their revere, "So tell us a little about Vanille." Lightning continued to watch as Fang looked over.

Fang cleared her throat, "Ah, well...Vanille is a bit of a character. Ya'll are actually about the same height, Serah. She's got bright red hair and is just painfully optimistic. I swear, she's too bubbly for her own damn good sometimes. If you met her, ya'd be friends before ya know it. That girl never met a stranger in her life."

Fang's face fell as she thought of Vanille. She felt guilty, knowing that Vanille was nowhere to be found and probably thought she was dead, while she ogled the first Cocoonian that she ran into. She avoided Lightning's eyes as she determined that whatever was between them could wait until her sister was found. She couldn't help but feel that decision would be broken quickly if she didn't watch out.

Fang fixed her eyes back out the window and watch the countryside roll by.

In six hours they would be in Nautilus.

* * *

_A/N: Ok, sorry about the long wait guys/girls. I know I said I would progress the main story a bit, but I got carried away with the FLight. The next story will feature a character I'm extremely excited about, and I'm not too sure about said character's future. I'll give you readers some options though. Do you want it to be an OC? Or would you like the character to be a Final Fantasy character? (already have someone in mind of similar temperate)_


	7. Healers

_In._

_Out._

Deep, steady breaths emitted from the woman crouched on a catwalk far above the teeming crowd. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun shone down onto the mindless mob below. The assassin had picked her spot well. The catwalk was completely shaded, save for a slit in front of her. She was hunched over, peering through a scope attached to the long rifle in front of her. She scanned the crowd, searching for her target. The assassin was dressed simply, in tight black clothing from fingertips to boots. Even though she tried to dress in a nondescript way, she knew that her hair and eyes would be easy to pick out of a crowd. Silver, shoulder length hair and red eyes made her easy to identify in a crowd, but she was trained to work around such problems.

_In._

_Out._

No sign came over the woman when she located her target. She was much too disciplined to have the normal bloodlust of an assassin. Her breathing didn't pick up, her heartbeat stayed in a steady rhythm. The only signal that signaled she had found her mark was she stopped scanning the crowd. The silver-haired assassin's mind was working in overdrive. Details flooded her, from the direction of the wind to the possible paths her mark would take. Her eyes tightened as she saw an opening in the crowd.

_In._

Her fingers tightened around her weapon. She double and triple checked her sighting, and led the walking businessman. She squeezed the trigger.

_Out._

Blood sprayed the crowd as a silenced sniper bullet erupted out of the back of the businessman's head. Screams could be heard from the crowd in her hiding spot, but the assassin was already in motion. In smooth, practiced motions she dismantled her weapon and placed it in the case next to her. The woman casually walked to the end of the catwalk and dropped the case down a chute next to the door. She quickly walked through the door and took the stairs down to the crowd below.

The assassin tugged forward the hood of her jacket as she walked through the crowd, mingling in the best she could. She tried to appear nosy like the rest of the mob that she walked through. Her mouth twisted in disgust at the people around her. People like this were nothing better than sheep, bleating at the wolf in their midst. Her eyes were drawn to the body that lay on the street. The authorities were already clearing the area, and she had a clear view of the man that she had killed.

At the sight of a corpse, a long forgotten reflex emerged from the assassin's mouth.

"In nomine matris..."

The assassin muttered the prayer automatically, fighting down memories of her past. It was too painful to think of. She retreated into herself, back into the cold persona that she had erected and dwelled within for years. Her eyes darted through the crowd, picking up details to distract herself with. The Detective division of the Guardian Corps had arrived on the scene, promptly reminding her that it was not the best idea to stick around. Her eyes made one last pass on the scene of the crime, and her gaze stopped on a man getting out of a car that had just arrived. He was a tall, dark-skinned man in a dark green jacket and jeans with a badge hanging from his neck. He was obviously not surprised at the sight in front of him. Suddenly, he looked up, feeling the gaze on him, and made eye contact with the assassin. She quickly looked away and walked off. His gaze followed after her for a moment before refocusing on the scene of the crime.

* * *

The assassin quickly stepped into her hotel room, shutting the door behind her and keeping a tight grip on her pistol. Habit reinforced by long years of training forced her mind to scan over her room. It had been safe six hours ago, but a paranoid assassin was an alive assassin. Her training came back to her as it always did when she stepped into a room.

_Scan the room. Look for any overt or obvious threats. Check the exits and possible entrances. Is the room the same as you left it? Has anything, even minor, changed at all? Look again. Pick up the little details that you missed on the first pass. Everyone misses something, look until you find it. Look for less than obvious threats. Trust your instincts._

Everything was as she had left it six hours ago. No maids had come in, as per her request. Maids were dangerous, more dangerous than people expected. Not normal maids of course, rather the assassins disguised as maids. She had used that cover quite a few times in her career. She never felt any satisfaction when she pressed the detonator or slid the blade home. She felt nothing. The absence of feeling was better than the alternative by far.

She moved decisively throughout the room, checking hiding spots and tells she had left behind to make sure no one had disturbed her room. Most tells were insignificant; a drawer slightly pushed open, the chair for the desk pushed out enough that it had to be moved in order to pass. Details were part of her trade, and no one was better than her.

Having deemed the room as safe and bug free, she locked the door and relaxed infinitesimally. She quickly and efficiently unpacked her case and proceeded to disarm herself. Weapon after weapon was placed neatly on the desk, glinting menacingly in the low light provided by the meager hotel room. Several different styles of knife were present, as well as one full sized pistol and a smaller snub nosed pistol that had been hidden in an extremely creative position. She removed several ammo magazines from her pockets, as well as a silencer. The assassin removed her jacket and began to unstrap several knife and gun holsters from her body. A small thin tube joined the growing arsenal on the desk, as well as a brace of feathered darts that had been strapped to her inner thigh. She paused for a second, and with a grimace of distaste reached into her mouth and pulled out the sharpened points that were attached to her incisors. The assassin had to be prepared for every eventuality, and that required her to be, quite literally, armed to the teeth.

Her disarming was a ritual in itself, and she moved with the ease of one who is familiar with the task, quickly finishing and leaving her arsenal resting on the table. Always the cautious one, she deliberately placed weapons in key spots around the room, including under her pillow and on the nightstand, just in case she were to be surprised. She also brought a knife with her into the bathroom as she went to wash the day away.

She may have been an extremely talented and deadly assassin, but she was also human. She had few indulgences, for she was extremely disciplined. However, she could never manage to resist a long, hot shower. Her former teachers might have thought it a weakness, something regular that could be exploited, but she couldn't bring herself to care. A hot shower was cleansing; it washed away all her troubles, all the sins she had committed, all the pain of her past life. The silver haired woman allowed herself to feel in this private world of hers, and she remembered the joy she had so briefly attained. It seemed as if the water represented all that was good and right in the world.

She couldn't help but think how very fitting it was that it all drained away when she stepped out of the shower. Numbness crept back over her as she mechanically dried off and dressed.

The assassin sat on the bed and pulled a rugged looking portable computer into her lap. She patiently waited as it booted up and connected. A blinking cursor on a black background greeted her.

_X: Well?_

Her employer was impatient, but he was also cautious. They only contacted through this computer. She leaned forward and typed a simple response.

_The mission has been completed._

_X: Excellent. Payment has been forwarded to your account. I have another job for you._

The assassin paused and considered those words. She wasn't sure she should take another job from this particular client.

_X: You will be well compensated, Paine._

Her lips twisted, partially at his presumptuousness and partially at the code name. She had thought it fitting to take on such a name when she began taking jobs. It was a reminder, although many took it to mean something else entirely.

_Paine: Where?_

_X: Nautilus._

* * *

"Please, at least think about this!" A young, dark-haired man pleaded to an irate looking redhead that steadfastly refused to look at him. The redhead stomped forward on the dirt road as if she could pound the ground into submission. The bronze skinned man finally grabbed her arm and the redhead brought her fiery gaze to bear upon the poor man. The young man immediately dropped his eyes and stepped away, but his tone was smooth as he continued to argue.

"It's extremely dangerous, Vanille. You could die." At the mention of her death, he raised his eyes, and new fire could be seen within. "I am not going to let that happen."

In the middle of his words Vanille seemed to falter, but her jaw tightened when he finished. "Like you have any say in the matter, Sar! I'm a grown woman, I can do whatever the hell I want!" Her eyes hooded dangerously, and she took a step towards him.

"And if you think for one second that you can stop me from finding _Fang_, Fang of all people, then you have another thing coming," the redhead hissed.

She was a picture of female fury. Bangs of red hair escaped her tightly bound french braid, matted to her head as the heat of the day left its mark upon her brow. Blazing green eyes peeked out from tightly slitted eyelids, and her mouth was twisted in a grim frown.

Despite the intimidating sight, Sar was not one to give up easily.

"You don't even know it's her, Van," he shot back at her. Vanille shook her head angrily and turned her back to the young man.

When she spoke again, it was in a sad tone, "You think I don't know that Sar? I... have to try. She would do the same for me." The redhead turned back, and it was easy to see her outer fire had been extinguished. Desperation and sadness now shone on her pretty face.

The last year had been hard on Vanille. The carefree happiness that had been present before Fang had disappeared had slowly melted away as the weeks had passed. Vanille had redirected her energy into becoming one of the most talented healers within a clan dedicated to healing. She was a prodigy among the Dia clan, with praises bestowed all around. Those praises couldn't replace her sister, however.

The most horrible reminder of the passage of time since her sister's disappearance had been her looks. Vanille had blossomed into a taller, more full figured young woman in the time that Fang had disappeared. Every time that she felt eyes on her new figure she was painfully aware of the absence of her protective sister, who would have quelled those lingering looks immediately.

The pain that she felt at not knowing what happened to her sister was as fresh as it was the day that she woke up alone in the woods. Vanille knew that Fang would never abandon her, so the only logical conclusion that she had thought of was that she had been kidnapped, although that in itself seemed laughable, considering Fang was a Yun. No one had believed her, but she had held faith in her sister.

That faith had been vindicated when the city's spymaster, Oerba Jin Djar, had told his son Sar that his spies had seen someone closely matching Fang's description leaving a Cocoon city. Sar had passed the news along to Vanille, of course, hoping to cheer up the redhead. He had not expected for her to volunteer for the strike force that was tasked with Fang's rescue. Being one of the premier healers of Gran Pulse, not to mention extremely skilled in battle magic, had earned Vanille an instant spot on the team. Her fair skin and hair, which were uncommon among Gran Pulsians, also helped in the decision to allow her to go.

Sar had argued against allowing her to go with his father, but the old man firmly stuck to his decision. Sar refused to give up and allow one of his best friends to go into danger, but there was little he could do to convince either of the stubborn duo.

Sar let out a sigh. It was obvious his prodding would only upset Vanille more. "Van, I'm sorry. Fang is my friend too, I'm just worried about you. We've been best friends for as long as I can remember. You're practically family."

Vanille let a small smile peek out from her saddened face. Sar laid a heavy hand on Vanille's shoulder. "Just be careful, okay? I won't be there to pull you out of trouble."

The redhead simply nodded and looked away. Sar turned around and started to head back to town. He paused a few steps away and turned back.

"Where's this Cocoonian city you're heading to called, anyway?"

Vanille glanced back up at him.

"I think Uncle Djar called it...Nautilus."

* * *

_A/N: Sorry about the long wait guys/girls. It's all up in my head, it's just hard to get out sometimes. You are going to love what's to come though._


End file.
